the deal sites.

There are so many of them. I have a huge, long list of favorites saved, but there are a few that I check all day long.

http://www.woot.com/
Love this - they typically have one deal a day, tending toward the electronics, but not always. Once in a while, they have a "woot off" day - and the deals change as they sell out. The best part sometimes is just to read the comment section.

http://www.kids.woot.com/
Woot recently started an off-shoot for just kid stuff, which I love. I've gotten a couple things from there, including a great Thomas beginner set for way below the prices I had seen anywhere.

http://www.slickdeals.net/
Major site that most shoppers know about already, but just in case... 
People post deals and the hottest ones move up to the front page.

http://hip2save.blogspot.com/
Blog by a woman names Collin, who posts all day, every day, with the best deal scenarios. Great for checking before you go to Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens! She also posts links to other great coupons, fun freebies, and other deals. She started doing a "Follow me" video segment every week, and is so freaking adorable. You'll love her even more!

http://www.mamabargains.com/ and http://www.babysteals.com/
Both post deals for moms and kids - shoes, toys, maternity wear, slings, strollers, etc. Everything a mom or dad could want!  Babysteals posts one per day and mamabargains posts new items when one is sold out.

http://www.shnoop.com/ & http://www.cowboom.com/
Similar to woot above - a deal a day!  Shnoop has a new one every day, but you can also get yesterday's deal if it's still available.

http://www.ruelala.com/ & http://www.hautelook.com/ & http://www.theminisocial.com/ & http://www.onekingslane.com/
These are all "invite-only sites" which are pretty easy to get "invited" to -- and they all have various deals going on. Ruelala and HauteLook are mostly designer-wear at major discounts. Sometimes they have home and kid stuff.  MiniSocial has kid stuff - clothes, shoes, toys. OneKingsLane has all house stuff at great discounts (although sometimes it's still sky high b/c it's designer).

http://www.kindleboards.com/
If you have a kindle, this is a great site to visit. They have a thread for free books and a thread for bargain books, that is usually updated daily by posts from avid readers. There are also quite a number of up and coming authors on here, which is very cool.

So...
These are the sites I visit daily (and sometimes many times a day) to score some amazing deals. I can't tell you how much money I've saved using coupons that I wouldn't have been aware of otherwise. I also was made aware of some great sales and deals that really helped me with gift and Christmas shopping. Plus, they're fun to read for the most part! 

Happy shopping!

coats...another obsession.

I looooove coats. It is really a strange thing to love, and my husband and mom cannot figure it out. It's so very clear and simple to me -- I live in the Midwest. It is cold here for many, many months. Varying degrees of cold. Most people only see your coat. Therefore, the coat is important.

Right? Does this not make perfect sense to you?

Anyway, suffice to say, I have too many coats. Well, I mean, a perfect amount. Ok, fine, it's too many. And yet, there are always more coats that I love!

Including these two that I just ordered from Old Navy. I was able to take advantage of their 50% off sale, plus a 30% off Stuff & Save sale, plus free shipping using my Gap card. The two coats were $57 total, which is a really good deal, in my opinion. I haven't seen them in person yet, so we'll see how they work out. If I don't like one on me (or both -- horrors!), I will definitely still donate them.

Disclaimer: I think it's very important donate coats -- both new and gently used. Everyone deserves a warm coat. I count myself extremely lucky that I'm blessed enough to have the option to have more than one coat. So please, no flames. I totally get that it's ridiculous to have a lot of any one thing.

shoes, shoes, shoes.

I am a total cliche, I'll admit it. I love shoes. I have too many, but I love them all. And I'm loving all the deals I'm finding these days.

6pm.com has had some crazy sales the past few weeks. I just got the shipment of the shoes I ordered on their big Nine West sale - they were all $19.95, nice. I couldn't help getting so many. It's always a bit of a gamble to get shoes without trying them on, but I'm crazy like that. Plus I kind of know how Nine West shoes fit.

Then the other day I was at Target, and found some adorable grey ankle boots for such a steal. They were on sale at my store for $20. $20 is a steal for these!! They are really comfortable, which is always hit or miss with the Target shoes. Super cute with leggings/tights or skinny jeans. Love. And I may have snagged a little pair of black flats for I think $15. I'm digging the ruffles.

So, 7 pairs of fabulous shoes for about $165. Not bad at all.